Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Great Confucians, of course, would not be easily swayed by worldly possessions.

"Xuan De, the Wa Kingdom is a tributary state established by Emperor Guangwu. We cannot easily tolerate slander. You must investigate this matter thoroughly. If the Wa Kingdom has been destroyed by another country, our Great Han, as the suzerain state, should also take charge."

Lu Zhi spoke in a deep voice, his eyes revealing a hint of danger.

Cai Yong patted Li Ji's shoulder and said gently.

"My son-in-law, I didn't expect that Yingzhou would be so complicated. If the truth is found out later, please send someone to inform me, so that I can also teach those old friends who revise history books to correct the errors in time."

As for Zheng Xuan, who had the greatest reputation in Confucian classics, he trembled as he stood up with Sun Qian's support. He heavily struck the ground with the cane in his hand and said.

"A minister dies for the emperor's humiliation! That insignificant country dares to insult our Great Han and has already chosen its own demise!"

"Prefect Liu, I would like to offer a suggestion. If it is truly confirmed that Yingzhou contains a large amount of gold and silver minerals, then even if the Wa Kingdom has not been destroyed, I will definitely petition the imperial court to remove the Wa Kingdom's status as a tributary state. Why doesn't Prefect Liu follow the example of the Western Regions and establish a Protectorate of Yingzhou?"

It must be said that the unyielding integrity of Confucianism reached a peak during the Han Dynasty.

Although Zheng Xuan's hair and beard were completely white, he still wore a sword at his waist, and even his words were more forceful than Lu Zhi's.

Liu Bei and Li Ji, of course, accompanied these three great Confucian treasures, who were now stationed at the Ren De Academy, with smiling faces all the way as they left.

However, one thing Li Ji was certain of was that with these three great Confucians witnessing on the side, this matter was completely confirmed, and there was no need to worry about any problems arising from public opinion.

If several contemporary great Confucians joined forces, they could distort even the sage's classics into the shape they wanted, let alone shape the Wa Kingdom into the desired form when Li Ji had prepared everything in advance.

As for whether the current Wa Kingdom was wronged or not, Li Ji was not very clear, but as long as the news of the Wa Kingdom's gold and silver deposits was completely confirmed, then this kind of thing would no longer be important.

Don't look at the Han Dynasty's Confucianism, which seems to advocate appeasement and appears harmless and without desires, but considering that the Han Dynasty's territory was much larger than the Qin Dynasty's Western Regions, it is clear that it was not harmless, but rather had not discovered a region that could make them reveal their fangs.

If Yingzhou had not revealed the news that it seemed to be full of gold and silver, even if the Wa Kingdom showed signs of being a remnant of the tyrannical Qin and had ill intentions towards the Great Han, I am afraid that many civil officials would have expressed their opposition, thinking that this would be too much of a drain on the people and resources.

In the final analysis, unless it was a mortal enemy like the Xiongnu, which would make the Great Han fight to the death at all costs, the rest often required consideration of the issue of interests.

And when Liu Bei and Li Ji returned to the side hall, closed the door, Liu Bei poured Li Ji another cup of tea to moisten his throat, and then slowly opened his mouth.

"Zi Kun, the translation of that Goguryeo fisherman was mostly wrong, right?"

Perhaps others did not know, but Liu Bei, who controlled the Embroidered Uniform Guard, naturally knew when Gan Ning had returned, and when Li Aoli and the three Wa people were brought to the mansion by Li Ji.

More than half a month had passed in between, enough for Li Ji to properly arrange everything.

It's just that Liu Bei also clearly understood that Li Ji was not deliberately hiding from him, and Li Ji also understood that Liu Bei had been tacitly allowing him.

"Ji needs to use the mouth of the Wa people to say his own words, please forgive me, my lord," Li Ji admitted with his head bowed.

Liu Bei sighed and said.

"Zi Kun, I can see that you are quite displeased with the Wa people. If Zi Kun doesn't like a mere foreign race, as long as it is within my ability, destroying them is all it takes."

"It's just that today Zi Kun used the mouth of the Wa people to say that Yingzhou is full of gold and silver, containing a large number of gold and silver mines. If you don't find them afterwards, I'm afraid it will be a major blow to Zi Kun's prestige."

When Li Ji heard this, he realized where Liu Bei was slightly worried, and immediately replied. "Don't worry, my lord, Yingzhou does have gold and silver deposits, and only this point is not false in the slightest."

"Really?" Liu Bei's spirit was shaken, and he couldn't help but confirm again.

"Naturally, this is the case, and the Wa Kingdom does have some suspicion of being a remnant of the tyrannical Qin, but the final result needs to be carefully investigated," Li Ji replied gently.

"If that's really the case, then Yingzhou really has to be taken, and those gold and silver mines may be the indispensable resources for the revival of the Great Han in the future."

Liu Bei stroked his beard, completely abandoning Li Ji's influence, and found that based on the current situation in Wu County.

Taking Yingzhou is indeed beneficial and harmless.

Liu Bei had also read the secret report written by Liu Yang on Gan Ning's ship.

Although Gan Ning did not go deep into Yingzhou, Liu Yang also spied on the current military situation of the island country from afar, which was much weaker than Liu Bei had imagined, and may even be inferior to the Xia and Shang dynasties.

With the current foundation of Wu County, it is not a fantasy to conquer Yingzhou alone.

Moreover, in terms of using troops, Liu Bei almost had a blind confidence in Li Ji.

Since Zi Kun judged that he could win, the possibility of making mistakes was almost negligible.

Furthermore, after thoroughly confiding in Li Ji, Liu Bei also confirmed the fact that the Great Han was about to collapse.

Even though the current population and economy of Wu County are still far inferior to the Central Plains region, only fertile land is countless.

In this case, if Wu County can take Yingzhou by virtue of its naval advantages, then the gold and silver minerals in Yingzhou will continuously become the economic foundation of Wu County.

Without enough money, food, and population, how can we revive the Great Han?

Quickly quell the troubled times after the collapse of the Great Han?

Especially now that the soldiers of Wu County have been resting for a year, and countless fertile fields have been harvested, the military strength and food are not lacking.

"Zi Kun thinks, when should we conquer Yingzhou?" Liu Bei asked in a low voice.

Li Ji narrowed his eyes and replied in a gentle tone.

"After the beginning of spring next year, we plan to completely bring Yingzhou into our control in one to two years."

This was also the deadline that Li Ji had set for himself. The beginning of spring next year will be the fourth year of Zhongping, and at the beginning of the sixth year of Zhongping, the current emperor's body will completely collapse.

Therefore, for Li Ji, there was not much time left.

Counting the time for sailing and rest, the actual combat time left for Li Ji was quite tight.

"Then Zi Kun plans to mobilize generals and soldiers?" Liu Bei asked again.

"Yi De can be the vanguard, Jiang Qin and Gan Ning guard the central army, and Jia Xu can be the military advisor, with 10,000 naval troops, 18,000 infantry, and 2,000 cavalry," Li Ji replied.

Thirty thousand!

For the current Wu County, mobilizing 30,000 troops is not a problem.

It's just…

Liu Bei said in a deep voice.

"How does Zi Kun solve the logistics problem? Even if the shipyard is building ships day and night, the sea breeze and waves are uncertain. If we only rely on seagoing ships to transport supplies, I am afraid there will be losses."

"Ji has also considered this matter early, and has built granaries in a ferry controlled by my lord's friend, Gongsun Bogui, to store supplies, and then use seagoing ships to travel between Youzhou and Yingzhou. The logistics are no problem!"

Li Ji replied with a confident look.

If the era was pushed back a few hundred years, this kind of method of guaranteeing logistics would be tantamount to courting death.

As long as you find a way to attack the grain transport ships at sea, and the grain route is cut off, then the Han army stranded overseas is likely to be completely destroyed.

Unfortunately, in this era, seagoing ships are unique to the Great Han, and Wu County has already far surpassed the Great Han.

At this moment, the Wa Kingdom does not have so-called seagoing ships to attack the Han army's grain transport ships, which instead puts the Han army's logistics in an invincible position.

Therefore, in Li Ji's view, this era is the easiest era to conquer Yingzhou. The difference between the two sides is just right. It is easy to cross the sea and there is no need to worry about guaranteeing logistics.

And Li Ji's almost unhesitating and impeccable answer silenced Liu Bei.

As expected, Zi Kun had already prepared everything…

"So, Zi Kun is the commander going to Yingzhou?" Liu Bei asked.

"Otherwise… will my lord go?" Li Ji asked carefully.

"I can't go."

Liu Bei shook his head again and again.

Not to mention that Liu Bei, as the prefect of a county, naturally cannot leave easily for a long time, and more importantly, Liu Bei is very self-aware of his abilities. Liu Bei can still command a few thousand soldiers as he pleases, but 30,000 troops is a new field that Liu Bei has never tried before.

Moreover, this trip is an expedition overseas, and I don't know how many changes will be involved, and there is a risk of the entire army being wiped out at every turn.

And Liu Bei asked himself, except for Li Ji, if he replaced someone else as the commander, Liu Bei would never entrust the lives of 30,000 troops to the other party.

So from beginning to end, there seems to be only one promise, and that is for Li Ji to lead the army to Yingzhou.

"It's just that, didn't Zi Kun often advise me: 'A son of a thousand gold does not sit in a dangerous hall?' Why is Zi Kun so lightly taking risks now?" Liu Bei asked quietly.

A boomerang that had been separated for more than a year accurately hit Li Ji's brow.

Making Li Ji, who has always been eloquent, not know how to quibble for a while.

The current seagoing ship technology is not perfect, and the sea is unpredictable. Even though Gan Ning has found a relatively safe route, it is undoubtedly still very dangerous.

Li Ji knew very well that his trip was for official business, and there were also one, two, three, four, five, and six points of personal revenge.

"My lord, one of us must be stationed internally, and this time taking Yingzhou is related to the great cause. If we can exhaust the gold and silver in Yingzhou, we will definitely be able to help my lord quell the coming troubled times and revive the Great Han sooner," Li Ji said in a deep voice.

And Liu Bei sighed again, and said in a somewhat complicated tone.

"Zi Kun, I am only twenty-five years old this year, and Zi Kun is only eighteen. We have a lot of time, even if we are not so anxious, it is okay. I would rather be slower, and I don't want Zi Kun to take risks, understand?"

Lee Gi couldn't help but feel a deep surge of emotion. He understood that Liu Bei's sudden opposition, despite his initial support, stemmed from a desire to protect him from danger.

However, even setting aside personal feelings, Lee Gi believed that acquiring the gold and silver of Yingzhou was crucial.

The development south of the Yangtze River lacked three things: population, economy, and food.

Therefore, to quickly complete the economic map, sufficient gold and silver reserves were undoubtedly essential.

(End of Chapter)